MedWorm: Royal College of Ophthalmologists

Surgical outcome and risk stratification for primary retinal detachment repair: results from the Scottish Retinal Detachment study.

The British Journal of Ophthalmology — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100

ConclusionsConsistent with previous series, the overall early success rate of RRD repair was 80% after one operation. The type of surgical repair did not influence overall success rates. Significant predictors of failure are the presence of preoperative proliferative vitreoretinopathy of any grade and the extent of detachment. The analytical value of current classification systems in predicting failure is most useful in complex RRDs. PMID: 22257789 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: The British Journal of Ophthalmology)

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Patient Safety in Ophthalmology

Hospital Management — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0100

In this paper, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists states that the health sector should maintain proper standards in the practice of ophthalmology for the benefit of the public. (Source: Hospital Management)

Management of blebitis in the United Kingdom: a survey

British Journal of Ophthalmology — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100

Conclusion A wide variation exists in the management of blebitis among glaucoma consultants. A standard treatment regime does not exist at the moment. Further research is needed to ascertain effective strategies to manage this condition. (Source: British Journal of Ophthalmology)

The role of pachymetry in primary care as a refinement tool of ocular hypertension and glaucoma referrals

British Journal of Ophthalmology — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 05:00:00 +0100

In April 2009, the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued guidelines on the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension (OHT).1 The publication of these guidelines has resulted in a large national increase of referrals with OHT or suspect chronic open angle glaucoma (COAG) beyond the 28% predicted by NICE.2 Our own referrals have increased by 91.2%. Optometrists complying with legal advice are recommended to ‘refer a patient who has a sign of ocular hypertension—for example, pressures measured at over 21 mm Hg, using whatever tonometer they choose’3 (this is usually a non-contact tonometer). This is putting a great strain on hospital eye service resources. The measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP) by Goldmann appl...

Management of blebitis in the United Kingdom: a survey.

The British Journal of Ophthalmology — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100

Peer-reviewed publication of abstracts presented at the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth) Annual Congress

Eye — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0100

Authors: J C Buchan, A Bastawrous, M Aldawoud & D Shickle (Source: Eye)

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NETAG appraisal and recommendation: Bevcacizumab or ranibizumab in retinal vein occlusion

NeLM - Drug Specific Reviews — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Source: NETAG Area: Evidence > Drug Specific Reviews The North East Treatment Advisory Group (NETAG) has produced an appraisal of bevacizumab (Avastin®) and ranibizumab (Lucentis®), in the management of macular oedema secondary to retinal vein occlusion and recommended that bevacizumab 1.25 mg using a 'when required' (PRN) regimen is recommended for use within NHS North East as this regimen is considered a more cost-effective treatment option in RVO compared with ranibizumab. Treatment should be restricted only to non-ischaemic disease and in accordance with criteria in the most recent guidance issued by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists. (Source: NeLM - Drug Specific Reviews)

Looking at partial eclipse directly could damage eyes, experts say

Guardian Unlimited Science — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 01:06:29 +0100

Government's interim chief medical officer warns people risk blindness if they do not take care on 4 JanuaryThe partial eclipse in the new year could cause permanent damage to the eyes if looked at directly, a top doctor said.The moon will pass between the sun and the earth between 8am and 9.30am on 4 January.Dame Sally Davies, the government's interim chief medical officer, said: "Under no circumstances should people look directly at the sun during a partial eclipse. The risks of doing so are very real and could lead to irreversible damage to eyesight and even blindness."She said children were particularly vulnerable. "We would urge parents to explain the danger to their children."We would not wish to see another case like the young boy who lost his central vision back in October 2005 thr...

Viewing partial eclipse could damage eyesight

Guardian Unlimited Science — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 01:06:29 +0100

Looking at partial eclipse directly could damage eyes, experts warn

Guardian Unlimited Science — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 01:06:29 +0100

CKS review: Glaucoma and ocular hypertension

NeLM - Guidelines — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 23:00:00 +0100

Source: Clinical Knowledge Summaries (CKS) Area: Evidence > Guidelines This CKS topic covers the recognition and management in primary care of chronic open angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension. The topic is based on the guideline Glaucoma: diagnosis and management of chronic open angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension developed by the National institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and takes account of guidelines developed by the College of Optometrists and by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists. (Source: NeLM - Guidelines)

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Should there be a visual standard for ophthalmologists and other surgeons?

Postgraduate Medical Journal — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 09:50:23 +0100

A number of professions have a visual standard but there is no standard for surgeons, including surgeons such as ophthalmologists who operate with the aid of a microscope. We review which professions do have a visual standard, the evidence addressing the issue of a visual standard in medicine and surgery, and an international survey of what visual standards other countries apply to ophthalmologists, and performed a survey of the views of the member of the British Royal College of Ophthalmologists. A number of professions, where public safety is an issue, do have a visual standard without compelling supporting evidence. By contrast, all but two countries do not have a visual standard for their ophthalmic surgeons. The survey of members of the British Royal College of Ophthalmologists suppor...

NPSA publishes surgical safety checklist for cataract surgery

NeLM - News — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100

Source: National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) Area: News The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has published a 'Surgical Safety Checklist for Cataract Surgery', aimed at supporting safer cataract surgery across the NHS. The checklist is an adaptation of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist, and requires surgeons to follow a list of basic checks. It has been developed in conjunction with the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, following 450 patient safety incidents reported between January 2008 and December 2009. The checklist should be used for all patients having cataract surgery. Local adaptation is encouraged to ensure it is effectively integrated into clinical practice. Please see the links below for further det...

NHS weighs up use of cheaper drug to stop older people going blind

Guardian Unlimited Science — Mon, 03 May 2010 23:05:07 +0100

Avantis, unlicensed for use against blindness, under consideration as bills rise for more expensive drug LucentisThe Department of Health is preparing the ground for a possible roll-out of a cheap, but unlicensed drug which can help prevent older people going blind, as NHS bills for an approved but much more costly drug soar.Avastin does have a licence, but as a treatment for bowel cancer. However, in the United States and across the rest of the world it has increasingly been used – split into tiny doses and injected into the eye – to stop people going blind from wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the commonest cause of blindness.The manufacturers of Avastin, US-based Genentech, have resisted this use of their drug. They produce Lucentis, which was derived from Avastin, but is...

Reply: Intraocular surgery with warfarin anticoagulation

Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:00:00 +0100

Our intention was neither to suggest best practice nor to represent the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, but merely to determine whether the Royal College guidelines were being followed. The survey was initiated by the observation that different units, and in some cases clinicians, appear to follow their own guidelines, in some cases apparently fairly uniformly in all patients despite this leading to “routine” practice that deviates from the national guidelines. Guidelines produced by the Royal College and other organizations are designed to indicate “best practice.” Whether these specific guidelines represent best practice for all patients was beyond the scope of our study. It is, however, important that evidence-based guidelines be followed unless specific patient factors dicta...

CKS topic review: Age-related macular degeneration

NeLM - Guidelines — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Source: Clinical Knowledge Summaries (CKS) Area: Evidence > Guidelines This CKS topic covers the primary care management of people with suspected or confirmed age-related macular degeneration. This topic is based on guidelines for the management of age-related macular degeneration from the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (Source: NeLM - Guidelines)

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Cataract surgery in the United Kingdom: a postal survey.

European Journal of Ophthalmology — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions. There are varied practices for cataract surgery in the United Kingdom including the number of cases on the list and postoperative review protocols. There is room for better service organization in some hospitals in terms of patient flow and better use of medical staff time to improve output. PMID: 20155705 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: European Journal of Ophthalmology)

Perioperative management of anticoagulated patients having cataract surgery: National audit of current practice of members of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists

Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:02:20 +0100

An 11-item questionnaire was mailed to 891 consultant members of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth) to audit compliance with RCOphth guidelines for perioperative management of anticoagulated patients having cataract surgery. Four hundred ninety-nine questionnaires were analyzed. The results showed that 29.5% of respondents adhered to all aspects of RCOphth guidelines; that is, they checked the international normalized ratio (INR) preoperatively, continued warfarin, operated within the desired therapeutic INR range for the condition that warfarin was being used to treat (as set by the treating physician), and considered sub-Tenon or topical anesthesia in anticoagulated patients. (Source: Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery)

Guidance on patient safety in ophthalmology from the Royal College of Ophthalmologists

Eye — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:00:00 +0100

Eye advance online publication, July 3, 2009. doi:10.1038/eye.2009.168 Author: S P Kelly (Source: Eye)

AMD side-effect can be misdiagnosed as dementia

HealthcareRepublic GP News — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Signs of dementia should not be confused with visual hallucinations common in patients with eye disease, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists is warning. (Source: HealthcareRepublic GP News)

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Visual function and fitness to drive

British Medical Bulletin — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Introduction Driving is recognized to be a visually intensive task and accordingly there is a legal minimum standard of vision required for all motorists. The purpose of this paper is to review the current United Kingdom (UK) visual requirements for driving and discuss the evidence base behind these legal rules. The role of newer, alternative tests of visual function that may be better indicators of driving safety will also be considered. Finally, the implications of ageing on driving ability are discussed. Sources of data A search of Medline and PubMed databases was performed using the following keywords: driving, vision, visual function, fitness to drive and ageing. In addition, papers from the Department of Transport website and UK Royal College of Ophthalmologists guidelines were stud...

The practice of dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) surgery by ophthalmologists in the United Kingdom (UK).

Orbit — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:33:13 +0100

CONCLUSIONS: A minimum of 200 DCR surgeons are practicing in the UK where almost 50% are non-lacrimal specialists. Marked variations exist in the perioperative DCR practice. PMID: 18716965 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Orbit)

Focus on Cataracts from NHS Institute

NHS Networks — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:57:09 +0100

The NHS Institute's Delivering Quality and Value team launched the Focus On Cataracts document at the recent Royal College of Ophthalmologists Annual Congress in Liverpool. Cataract surgery is now the most common surgical procedure undertaken in England, with around 300,000 operations performed annually in the NHS. With increasing life expectancy and an expanding elderly population, the incidence of cataract and therefore the demand for surgery continues to rise. Due to the high volume of cataract activity, any improvements in quality and efficiency will have huge benefits to patients, ophthalmology units and acute trusts. In developing Focus on: Cataracts the Institute has worked closely with NHS ophthalmology units to identify the key characteristics of high quality and efficien...

Optometric prescribing

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 08:06:21 +0100

This page on the Royal College of Ophthalmologists website provides information on prescribing by optometrists, with links to further information and a downloadable version of the full document. There is information on the history of prescribing by optometrists, progress towards independent prescribing and the rules on supplementary prescribing, including the training requirements. (Source: Latest Internet resources added to Intute: Health and LifenSciences nursing gateway)

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists interim recommendations for the management of patients with age-related macular degeneration

Eye — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 05:00:00 +0100

Eye advance online publication, February 22, 2008. doi:10.1038/eye.2008.1 Author: W M K Amoaku (Source: Eye)

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Do you have any information on the intravitreal use of bevacizumab?

NLH Question Answering Service — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:14:11 +0100

In November 2007 the Royal College of Ophthalmologists published a paper on the topic [1]. As well as commenting on the efficacy and safety data it also looks at the issue around prescribing. (Source: NLH Question Answering Service)

Ophthalmologists use ePortfolio for career development

E-Health-Insider — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 00:30:00 +0100

Trainee doctor members of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists are using a new web-based system, ePortfolio from Premier IT, to keep track of student portfolios throughout their career development. (Source: E-Health-Insider)

Which patients with senile macular degeneration benefit from which treatments?

NLH Question Answering Service — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 19:33:25 +0100

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists have recently (October 2007) updated their interim recommendations on age-related macular degeneration. The recommendations cover a range of interventions. (Source: NLH Question Answering Service)

Royal College of Ophthalmologists

RDFunding RSS feed — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:51:44 +0100

Fight for Sight Award Amount: £5K - £10K Closing Date : 22 February 2008 (Source: RDFunding RSS feed)

Tonometer prism sterilisation: A local and UK national survey.

Contact Lens and Anterior Eye — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 04:00:00 +0100

CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights that sterilisation of tonometer prisms was inconsistent in a local audit. Nationally, practices were varied. The majority of ophthalmology departments continued to use non-disposable tonometer prisms, but few seemed aware of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists' recommendation that disposable prisms are used in patients at risk of prion disease, and few track tonometer heads or replace them according to manufacturers guidelines. Use of disposable tonometer prisms would seem to reduce concerns about sterilisation, as well as prevent spread of common pathogens. PMID: 17703987 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Contact Lens and Anterior Eye)

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NICE to reconsider guidance on age-related macular degeneration

NeLM Headline News — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0100

According to a BBC news report, NICE is to reconsider its preliminary guidance on treatments for wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), which had rejected the use of pegaptinib (Macugen®) and restricted use of ranibizumab (Lucentis®). This decision has generated more than 13,000 responses to the consultation on the guidance, including submissions in support of the drugs from the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists. NICE will now carry out further economic modelling of the drugs and the final guidance will not now be published until next year. The RNIB accused NICE of "massive incompetence" in delaying a decision on access to the drugs. It said the review could lead to 10,000 people in the UK going blind unnecessarily in the next s...

Commissioning contemporary AMD services : a guide for commissioners and clinicians. Version 3 July 2007

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 03:30:01 +0100

Age related macular degeneration (AMD) affects an increasing number of people. This updated guidance from the Royal College of Ophthalmologists takes into account recent clinical trials showing the efficacy of endothelial growth factor therapy. The guidance looks at service specification, referral pathways, resource requirements and guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). (Source: Latest Internet resources added to Intute: Health and LifenSciences nursing gateway)

Should all patients who have had raised intraocular pressure noted by the optician be referred to secondary care?

NLH Question Answering Service — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 09:53:39 +0100

The only guideline we could find was published by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists in 2004. The guideline covered the management of open angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension [1], it defines ocular hypertension as:"Ocular hypertension (OHT) is a term reserved for eyes in which the intraocular pressure (IOP) lies above the normal population range, the optic nerve and visual field show no signs of glaucomatous damage, and there is no ocular co-morbidity. (Source: NLH Question Answering Service)

Patrick Trevor-Roper Undergraduate Award

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 04:00:00 +0100

Aim: To fund electives in Ophthalmology and may be spent on travelling or subsistence. The Patrick Trevor-Roper Travel Award was established in 1997 with a gift of £20,000 by Mr Patrick Trevor-Roper MD FRCS FRCOphth. The Royal College of Ophthalmologists has undertaken the role of trustee and administrator for the fund. Applications are invited for this award in Ophthalmology, which is open to all undergraduate medical students with an interest in the subspecialty. There are two awards to be made annually. Successful candidates are expected to prepare a short written report at the end of the electives. Funding:Two annual awards of £550 each. Applicants are asked to send five copies of the application form and five copies of their CV to Miss Susannah Grant. Open to all undergraduate medi...

Responses to the White Paper 'Trust, Assurance and Safety'

NHS Networks — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 11:34:12 +0100

Below are some of the responses to yesterday's White Paper, 'Trust, Assurance and Safety - The Regulation of Health Professionals'. Links to additional responses can be submitted to the Website Editor and will be added as they become available. British Medical Association Synopsis and analysis of the White Paper by the BMA's Health Policy, Economics and Research Unit Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (Word, 48KB) General Medical Council Health Professions Council King's Fund NHS Employers Royal College of Anaesthetists Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Royal College of Ophthalmologists Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (PDF, 22KB) Royal College of Physicians Royal College of Surgeons of Englan...

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CLINICAL SCIENCES: Evaluating Surgical Dexterity During Corneal Suturing

Archives of Opthalmology — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 06:00:00 +0100

Conclusions Motion analysis measured by this technology may be useful in the formal surgical training of residents and as an objective quantitative measure of dexterity. (Source: Archives of Opthalmology)

Does a 2yr old boy require ophthalmology assessment for squint (over and above the routine health visitor screening) because of strong family history of squint?

NLH Question Answering Service — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 16:15:11 +0100

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists has a guideline that covers strabismus [1], this states:"Constant squint is generally recognised early by the family, health visitor or general practitioner. A positive family history of squint or amblyopia should alert those in primary care when carrying out routine checks or immunisations. (Source: NLH Question Answering Service)

Royal College of Ophthalmologists recommends 'Smoking causes blindness' warnings

OnMedica Latest News — Thu, 25 May 2006 08:14:38 +0100

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists has recommended that 'Smoking causes blindness' warnings be added to cigarette packets after a study showed the habit doubles the risk of age-related macular degeneration. (Source: OnMedica Latest News)